Should I use “including” for a list?

Question

I want to say my pastime interests are quite a few and include swimming, reading, and playing. (American English). Is it correct to say:

My pastime interests are including swimming, reading, and playing a guitar.

One can say, "including but not limited to", but it doesn't sound good unless it is in some legal document.

I don't think comma is needed before including as I am not introducing a dependent clause. Is that right? It was discussed on ELU.

Also, please suggest if there is a better way of saying this sentence without using "including."

Answer 1

pastime interests

doesn't seem natural to me since it seems redundant in this instance.

interest
: something (such as a hobby) that a person enjoys learning about or doing

I would just say

1. My interests include swimming, reading, and playing guitar.

I think this is a typical sentence one might saying talking about themselves, like during an icebreaker, party, etc. It sounds very natural to me.

Some other ways you might express the same/similar idea are

2. I enjoy swimming, reading, and playing guitar.
3. I like to swim, read, and play guitar.

I think people usually understand that your interests are not limited to the things you list.

You could also use "Some things", or "among other things". For example

4. Some things I like to do are swim, read, and play guitar.
5. I like to swim, read, and play guitar, among other things.

Using these phrases expresses that you have more interests than the ones listed.